Taxi driver injured in late-night assault

A taxi driver suffered serious facial and head injuries after being bashed and robbed in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The 55-year-old victim was admitted to hospital after the assault which was caught on camera in Darraghs Rd, Brookfield.

Detective Bryan Dudley said police were investigating the attack which occurred shortly before 3am after the owner-driver from Tauranga Mount Taxis had picked up a passenger in downtown Tauranga, before travelling to Darraghs Rd.

Mr Dudley said when the taxi driver arrived at the address, he was understood to have been punched and kicked and had personal belongings taken from him.

He was believed to have been pulled from the taxi during the attack, and injured his knees on the road.

The driver was admitted to Tauranga Hospital and has since been discharged, but will need to return to hospital for a scan.

The attack comes just weeks after the issue of taxi driver safety was raised following the death of a driver in Auckland.

Tauranga Mount Taxis general manager Bruce Rainey said the injured driver had a suspected broken bone under his eye and described him as "pretty well beaten up".

"He's not a pretty sight," he said.

The driver is one of several Mr Rainey has seen attacked on the job.

"You never get used to it. One of them's one too many," he said.

The driver, whom he described as "a peaceful and humble man", told him he feared for his life during the brutal attack.

"It's always the nice ones they seem to pick on, it's pretty much cowards [who attack drivers] really."

Mr Rainey said the injured driver usually worked during the day ferrying elderly people around but with a drop in daytime business had taken on some night shifts.

This was the first attack on a driver since cameras were installed in about half of Tauranga Mount Taxis' fleet in October last year, so yesterday's incident was caught on tape.

Mr Rainey said while screens in taxis would improve security they would also be costly to install.

The company also ran the risk of installing something which might not comply once a planned Government review of taxi security was complete.

Meanwhile, Mr Rainey said the consequences of not having a safe workplace were proving too high for drivers.

"There's no way it's worth putting your life at risk, just to be driving a taxi," he said.

A Tauranga taxi driver parked downtown yesterday morning told the Bay of Plenty Times he was saddened to hear of the attack.

David Kidd, who drives for Tauranga Mount Taxis, said night-time driving was definitely more dangerous.

Mr Kidd said in the five years he had been a taxi driver, he had experienced several close calls, but always managed to get out of them.

The taxi he drove had a camera, which gave him peace of mind but he still had to be on his game.

"If someone really wanted to do something, they would."

Mr Dudley said a small amount of cash was recovered but it was not known whether all the cash stolen had been accounted for.

It is understood a set of keys to the taxi could still be missing.

Because of language difficulties, police had to speak to the driver again to confirm exactly what had been taken.

A 20-year-old Tauranga man was charged with robbery in relation to the attack and was to appear in the Tauranga District Court yesterday.

- APN News & Media